


Shepherd

by QuicksilverMaximoff



Category: Marvel, Young Avengers
Genre: Gen, Genderqueer Tommy Shepherd, Implied/Referenced Alcohol Abuse/Alcoholism, Underage Smoking, Verbal Abuse, Violence
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-08-16
Updated: 2015-08-16
Packaged: 2018-04-15 02:39:08
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,680
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4589907
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/QuicksilverMaximoff/pseuds/QuicksilverMaximoff
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Sometimes, Tommy was convinced that he was right, that Frank and Mary Shepherd weren't his parents, that his real family was somewhere else and it was all just some big mistake. But Tommy had searched since he was ten and never found any adoption papers, and it wouldn't make any sense anyway- Frank and Mary hated kids, the only reason they'd kept him was because they thought that their own might be different. Tommy was different, just not in the way they'd have liked him to be.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Shepherd

Tommy heard the front door slam, and immediately he bolted from the couch to his room and locked the door behind him, flinging himself into his chair by the desk and opening his textbook to a random page. Too late, he remembered that washing the dishes had slipped his mind, and that he hadn't picked up milk after school. He closed his eyes and exhaled slowly, aware of what was coming. 

"Thomas, the dishes are filthy! Get your lazy ass down here!" Frank Shepherd's voice cut through the house like a machete, and Tommy leaned his head against the door before slowly unlocking it. He wasn't even halfway down the stairs before he heard more yelling. 

"He didn't buy the damn milk again! Maybe he should drink the fucking stale shit we have left in here!" Tommy cringed at the sound of his mother's- no, Mary's, because she wasn't his mother, mothers don't treat their children that way- voice, and slowed his pace, immediately regretting it when Frank shouted again. 

"I said get your ass down here, Thomas! I'm not asking you to build me a rocket, I'm asking you to wash the fucking dishes you goddamned lazy shit!" Now rushing to get to the kitchen, Tommy nearly tripped over his feet, the stairs suddenly seeming too steep and too long, not quite sure if he'd care should he actually fall down them. He got to the kitchen, panting slightly, only to have another barrage of words flung at him. "Don't you act like you're exhausted, you don't work all day, all you do is sit on your ass!" Frank shouted. 

"Yes sir, sorry sir," Tommy said quickly before sliding past to do the dishes as quickly as possible. 

"You going to get milk or are you just going to stand there and not do anything like a goddamn princess?" Mary asked. "Frank, show him the door and don't let him in until he's got that milk. Would be nice of him to get some booze too, 'cept for the fact that he says he's too young to."

"I'm fourteen," Tommy mumbled. 

"Fuckin' bullshit!" Mary shouted. "You think your father and I don't know what you and your friends get up to? You probably buy up the booze here and all the way to two towns over!"

"I don't drink," Tommy responded softly. "And I don't have friends." 

"Damn right you don't," Frank said directly to Tommy. "No one wants to be friends with someone like you. Irresponsible, stupid, lazy. Maybe you should get your fucking life on track. I'm tellin' you, February was the last time we bail you out of juvie, you sick fuck." Frank walked towards the door, grabbing his beer off the counter as he went. "Don't vandalize anything while you're out there." As soon as Tommy stepped over the threshold, the door slammed behind him. He reached into the pocket of his jeans and thanked whatever being there was that he hadn't taken his wallet out. 

Tommy wasn't sure if he wanted to hurry or take his time. The longer he was out, the more likely it was that he'd get yelled at for not being fast enough. But also, the longer he was out, the less he'd see Frank and Mary, and it would be more likely that they'd be asleep or engrossed in the television by the time he got back. He reached into his back pocket and his fingers slid across the unopened pack of cigarettes he had stolen from someone at school that day. He pulled it out and opened it, wondering if he should take one. 

"Fuck track," he muttered. "Not like anyone wants me there. Not like I'm fast enough. Freak queer Tommy Shepherd with his white hair and tripping over his feet and not taking his beatings like a fucking man." He could still feel the bruises from the morning, and the ones from the day before and the day before. At first, Tommy fought against the guys at school. But as his parents- he was always reluctant to call them that from the age of ten onwards- grew to care less and less for him, the less he cared about getting pushed around. His parents would attack him with words and occasionally slap him. The guys at school would beat him until every part of his body ached and he would wonder if maybe this time something was broken. Maybe if it was, Frank and Mary would care again. 

Tommy pulled out a lighter that he always carried with him- one of the girls at juvie- the first time he went, when he was twelve- had by some miracle smuggled it in and gave it to him before he left. "You never know when you'll have to set something on fire," she told him. Tommy always had one on hand since then, for no particular reason, as he never used it; it was more for the memory of the girl who was perhaps the only friend he had ever truly had. He lit the cigarette, coughing as he tried to inhale. 

"'S fuckin' disgusting," he said to himself before bringing it to his lips again and coughing again. Tommy looked at the cigarette between his fingers, trying and failing one last time to enjoy the sensation of smoking it, and then flicked the end of it with his fingers, sending ash flying and snapping it in half. "Maybe next time," he mumbled. 

It took him an hour and a half to get the milk. It should have taken him twenty minutes. Aware that Frank and Mary were likely asleep, Tommy climbed into his house through the open window in the kitchen, putting the milk in the fridge. He glanced into the living room- sure enough, they were sprawled on their respective chairs, empty bottles of alcohol from the past week spread all over- and headed upstairs. Tommy liked doing homework and he liked learning, but at this point, he didn't care anymore. He'll take the detention for it. He climbed out his window and onto the bit of roof that covered the first floor bathroom, curling into himself and looking at the night sky. He'd always liked the view he got from here- the stars were bright, trees from the forest silhouetted nearby, the occasional sound of some animal wandering about. 

Sometimes, Tommy was convinced that he was right, that Frank and Mary Shepherd weren't his parents, that his real family was somewhere else and it was all just some big mistake. But Tommy had searched since he was ten and never found any adoption papers, and it wouldn't make any sense anyway- Frank and Mary hated kids, the only reason they'd kept him was because they thought that their own might be different. Tommy was different, just not in the way they'd have liked him to be. 

"What if I was a mutant?" Tommy whispered to himself. "Yeah, that'd be cool. My mom's probably one too. Maybe my dad. Who knows, I might have some siblings or something. Might be part of some big mutant family. Frank and Mary hate me as it is, it would be kind of nice to add being a mutie to the list. At least then I might be able to do something to stand up for myself." He knew that it was irrational, that Frank and Mary were his only family, and that they didn't love him, so why should anyone else? No one wants Tommy Shepherd. 

"If I'm right, and I do have some other family, then I hope you guys didn't leave me on purpose. Or well, that you didn't just decide you didn't want me. I hope you had a reason for leaving me here with them." He saw a flash of red light, probably just a figment of his imagination, he was pretty tired after all. "I bet my real mom is great," he whispered, feeling a tear slide down his face. 

Tommy knew he was wrong. His only family was here, and his only family didn't want him. 

***

Tommy showed up to school on the day of his fifteenth birthday with a bruise on his face and bloody knuckles. He also showed up in a skirt he had stolen, because fuck it, everyone thought he was queer anyway, and besides, his parents were running out of things to get on his case about. His father had hit him the instant Tommy had come downstairs, although to be honest, Tommy still wasn't sure if it was more about the skirt or the fact that it was stolen. Probably both. 

The instant he got near the school, everyone was whispering and jeering and Tommy knew he was in for a beating. Good. Let them try. Something had clicked in him this morning and for the first time since he could remember, he felt like he could take on the world. 

"Shepherd!" A voice called from behind him. Nothing else was said before a fist collided with his back and he fell to the floor as several others joined in. 

"Get off of me," Tommy growled. The punching stopped. 

"Did he just-"

"Fucker never says anything-" 

"Let's get back to it we can't-"

"I said get OFF OF ME!" Tommy shouted, kicking the guy standing closest to his legs. He stood up, anger bubbling inside of him. Everyone was silent, all eyes were on him. Good. Tommy felt powerful. "Don't touch me again. Don't look at me, don't talk to me. You do anything, and I'll fuck you up." The guys said nothing for a minute, and then burst out laughing. 

"You guys seein' this? Someone got their phone out? Recordin' this? Asshole thinks he's the shit man, he ain't nothin'!" 

Tommy felt as if his entire body was vibrating, it was almost as if he was on fire. He put one hand against the wall next to him, and when he noticed the terrified looks on everyone's faces, it was too late. 

A second later, everything exploded.


End file.
